


Missing Links

by vitriol



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:19:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vitriol/pseuds/vitriol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've yet to add a summary that I'll like. Hopefully it'll change soon. These characters belong to me.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> I've yet to add a summary that I'll like. Hopefully it'll change soon. These characters belong to me.

“ _Yesterday, _xxx_ was abducted from outside a local store on the South Side. An ongoing investigation is currently being performed, and we will be bringing more news as it progresses._” The anchor woman’s voice filled the room, a picture of the missing girl shown on the screen in hopes that someone might call in and tell her whereabouts, alive or dead.

Four teenagers sat on an old couch, having been silent since the beginning of the news. It was a sort of tradition that they did, in order to combat what one of them called: “the ignorance of the human race”. The only problem was that by the end of the news broadcast, they all felt at least a little bit more cynical about the world.

“ _In other news, the Chinese-…_ ” The anchorwoman wasn’t allowed to finish her latest news as she was quickly turned off by one of the four watching. Whatever the news were going to be, they would never know.

The other three turned around, staring at the perpetrator with blank faces. Him, on the other hand, continued to stare at the T.V. with a sour expression, the arm holding the remote slowly falling back to his side. “The world’s a shitty place. I don’t think we need any more proof for it.”

The girl next to him, Alys Noble laughed at his statement, leaning closer against his side. Brown eyes closed as she forced a smile through the dark atmosphere. “Noyle, don’t be such a pessimist.” With a light laugh, she ran a hand through her boyfriend’s dark blonde hair, playfully curling it around her fingers in silence.

In fact, the whole room was dead silent. Avoiding each other’s gaze, they each let themselves fall into their own thoughts.

“Your boy-toy’s right, sweetie.” A smooth voice spoke, in a tone that made her sound much older than what she was. Long waves of brown hair cascaded over her shoulders as she turned to face Alys with cat-like green eyes. “The world is turning into a piece of shit.”

The girl’s smile melted at those words, her brown eyes gazing back with a sad twinkle. “You’re wrong, Eris.” She answered back with newfound determination before turning towards the one furthest from her with a bright, hopeful smile. “Right, Erik?”

On the farthest end of the sofa sat one more blonde male. Whipping his head around to face Alys, blue eyes widened and then narrowed in thought. “It... it depends on how you see it, I suppose.” Erik spoke, his hands fidgeting as his gaze broke for just a second.

Noyle rolled his eyes at his lackluster response. “Will you just choose a side?” He retorted snappily, letting out a sudden cry when his girlfriend pulled at his hair to keep him quiet. With a scowl on his face, he turned towards her. “You can’t blame me for being pissed at him. He’s like a politician, always changing sides to what suits him better.”

Alys’s mouth opened to say something, but the words that filled the room were not hers, but Erik’s. “At least I don’t have a one track mind like you.” The teenager said, a shaky smirk forming on his face. “Maybe you should stop talking to those spirits so much. They’re clearly dampening your mood.” The smirk turned into a light chuckle as Erik’s gaze went to Alys, who smiled back at him.

Noyle wasn’t as happy with the comment though. “At least those aren’t the only people I can have a conversation with.” A smirk grew on his face as Erik’s own smirk crumbled into a quiet scowl.

The already frigid atmosphere became heavier as the two males stared each other off, blue against brown, a smirk versus a frown. Alys’s eyebrows furrowed in worry although she knew that neither of the two would be violent towards each other- not physically at least. Her eyes hovered to Eris, who’s green eyes glance shifted between the three of them, everything else about her as still as a statue.

To a normal human, it didn’t seem like anything special. But Alys could feel it, the feeling of her will molding to Eris’s mental demands. _Back down_ it said. For what felt like an eternity, no one moved. No one dared speak a word, in fear of it being what pulls the trigger.

“I- I want to go outside.” Erik finally muttered, just loud enough to reach the other three. His scowl melted into an expression that Alys couldn’t read, despite having known the boy for years. The heightened tension drained away like water in a bathtub as he wordlessly stood up and threw on his jacket over his t-shirt. No one said a word and no one even looked at him.

All of the sudden, Alys jumped off the sofa, a smile once more on her face. “I’m going with you Erik!” Ignoring Noyle’s shock and Eris’s eyes widening in curiosity, she laughed in a chipper tone. “I have things to do too, you know.”  She said, walking up to Erik who despite being younger than her, stood over Alys by a head.

Erik looked at her and even if he didn’t say anything, his blue eyes and slightly open mouth said more than what he’d say out loud. “I…” Words jumbled up in his throat and he glanced to the side as he organized his thoughts. “Are you sure?”

Alys didn’t answer- well, not verbally at least. Ignoring his question, she opened the door to the apartment and walked out, leaving Erik in his place. When she was halfway down the hallway, her cheerful voice echoed back to the entrance. “Erik, are you coming or not?!”

With one last glance to the couch, he saw Noyle’s skeptical gaze boring a hole through his skull. Eris was nowhere to be found. She must have returned to her room, Erik thought to himself.

“Are you coming?!” Alys’s voice rang once more, shaking the blonde back to reality. Right…she was waiting for him!

With a shaky smile to himself, Erik shouted back, “Wait for me!” before running out and closing the door behind him.


	2. Preparation

Chapter 2

In the spring chill of Chicago, the bright, afternoon sun shone down on the two teenagers as they walked through the streets of downtown. Alys, who was much more talkative than Erik, was the one who kept the conversation between the two going strong. He listened, every once in a while adding an anecdote or laughing whenever he found something funny. Sometimes, he laughed even when it wasn’t funny, just to see Alys’s face bright up at the success of her joke.

Her smiles were pretty, Erik told himself as they walked down the streets. Tourists and citizens alike cluttered the sidewalks, walking at a brisk pace to avoid being left behind. There were others that didn’t follow the crowd though, visible only to the blonde.

These too, were tourists or citizens who wandered aimlessly through the streets in clothes that were not typical for this day and age. That aside, they were no different than everyone else-

Until someone passed right through them, that is. Despite their solid appearance, it was only a mere remnant of their human selves. Many of them were long dead; others maybe only a few weeks or even a few days. Yet Erik saw them as clear as day.

So when the spirit of a recently deceased was coming in his direction, he tried to dodge her…only to run into Alys. Erik quickly jerked away from her as if struck with electricity as she looked up at him in silent confusion. _Right_ , he told himself, _she’s alive. She’s solid._

“S-sorry.” Erik muttered, avoiding her gaze. He wondered if she was angry. Even if she didn’t _look_ like she was angry, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t. She could lie to him- no she was an honest person in his eyes. Erik trusted her; he had to.  Nevertheless, the what-if echoed in his head like an ugly reminder. That stupid, annoying what-if that made him doubt.

“It’s alright.” Alys accepted his apology with a playful smile, looking over and behind her friend’s shoulders. “Was there something there?” she asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion as she continued to look for that which she couldn’t see.

That’s when Erik noticed his mistake. Looking over his shoulder, he followed Alys’s line of sight. Even though she couldn’t see it, he could still see the figure of the girl he had dodged. She faced him, watching him with a steady, silent stare that the blonde swore he had seen somewhere.

It took a moment before it finally clicked. “…It’s the girl from the news.” Erik muttered with eyes wide. Though Alys couldn’t see what he was seeing, her brown eyes widened as she stared at where the spirit would be and then following back to meet with the male’s saddened gaze.

“Ah…” She continued to stare at the same spot, unsure as to why she was even looking. No matter how much she stared, she would never be able to see her spirit, and Alys understood that.

It must be lonely, she thought to herself, to be unseen by the rest of the world. Her gaze lowered, heavy with sadness over the discovery. Wordlessly, she turned around and began to walk without warning. “If only we could stop these sorts of crimes.” She muttered to herself, not noticing that Erik had already caught up to her.

Noticing her forlorn expression, Erik grimaced unsure of what to do. She was upset, but what if he just made it worse. Talking to a living person wasn’t like talking to a dead one. Spirits didn’t get their feelings hurt because they rarely had the ability to notice the difference between a hurtful comment and a normal one.

“I can see the future and yet I can’t save anyone.” Alys continued, talking to herself more than she was to the blonde. “If I can’t do anything, then what good is my ability for?”

 _There!_ He thought to himself. Grabbing her hand on impulse, blue eyes stared wide open into her brown ones as she snapped her head back in surprise. “I- I think you’re a great person.” He choked out, a small but shaky smile forming on his lips as he continued. “I don’t think that there’s anyone who deserves the role to save people more than you.” Erik gulped, nervously pulling his hand away from the brunette who only stared at him with a dazed expression. Did he say too much? Or was it not enough? Or did he say the wrong thing-?!

“Thank you.” Alys’s soft words broke through Erik’s panicked thoughts. She held his hand with both of hers, looking at him with an apologetic smile. “I’ll keep your words close to me. What’s the point of having these abilities if we can’t do anything with them?” She asked him, waiting for an answer that didn’t come. The idea of working alongside the police was a topic that had soured many dinners between the four of them. Noyle and Eris would both battle against it, pointing out that no adult in their right mind would agree to work with a group of teenagers who claimed to have abilities. Alys would counter against it, claiming that people needed change and that their help would benefit everyone.

Erik as usual, didn’t have an opinion, not openly anyways. Deep in his heart, he agreed that people weren’t ready- that they would be treated like freaks. He couldn’t burst her bubble though, not after seeing her so arguing her point so passionately. He didn’t want to disappoint her.

Smiling shyly back at her, he pulled his hand away from her to move to her side. “Let’s keep walking. Don’t you have errands to do?”

Laughing, Alys smiled back at him, brown eyes full of glee. “No.”


	3. Informed Consent

Chapter 3

_All patients must sign an informed consent form acknowledging that they are aware of risks and complications._

After that scene, they walked in silence as they admired the tall buildings that stretched out and touched the clear Chicago sky. The two of them had lived long enough in the Windy City but still couldn’t help to be impressed.

When Alys broke the silence between them, Erik wasn’t sure how much time they had spent silent.

“What would you do if I died?” The question, though grim, was suddenly asked in a curious tone. When Erik turned around to face the brunette, he saw that she had a carefree smile on her face- a strange reaction for anyone who would ask something that severe.

The boldness of her question took the blonde aback, her cheerful curiosity sending shivers down his spine. Erik wondered if Alys had a vision -a vision of her death- but didn’t voice his inquiry. He doubted that she’d answer, anyways.

“What kind of question is that?” He finally asked in an annoyed tone, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

Alys giggled at his annoyed expression, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. “Just humor me will you? It’s a simple question.” Brown eyes glanced momentarily at him before facing forward once more.

She was clearly hiding something. “It’s a stupid question.”

Instead of continuing the argument though, she kept smiling at Erik, patiently waiting for an answer. The smile, though sweet, was meant to disarm him for whatever underlying intentions that she had.

Erik stopped himself right there- could she really have any underlying motives? Could that be his paranoia thinking for him? The paranoia that kept picking at him and ruining whatever few friendships he had left.

He wasn’t going to let that happen with Alys. Not with her. Swallowing down the worry her question caused him, Erik decided that he’d humor her. What was the worst that could happen?

“I guess I would cry or something like that.” Turning to her, he gave her a nonchalant shrug. What else do people respond to questions like this? “I told you that it’s a stupid question.”

She gave him a shrug, a small mischievous smile on her lips as she kept walking. For minutes, they walked silently and Erik wondered, just for a moment, what was behind that bright smile of hers. Since neither of them made any other comment on the topic that she had forced out, the topic died in their silence.

This silence though, was much heavier than the last. It had- to Erik at least- a hint that something was to come, something foreboding. Erik glanced once more at the brunette, his brow furrowed in frustration at the sight of her smile.

 _Just what the hell is going through her mind?!_ The blonde thought, a slight grimace on his face. That smile wasn’t normal to him, no matter how normal it looked. His only question was what was hidden behind it and _why_ she was hiding it from him.

Immersed in his own thoughts, Erik wasn’t aware when they came up to a busy intersection until he was pulled back by the collar of his shirt. Seconds later, a car sped by just where he had been. _Oh._

“You gotta be more careful, Erik.” Alys told him in a nagging tone, her hand releasing its grip from the male’s collar. “You’re smarter than the usual person but you’re still such an airhead.” She added with a wry grin. The comment wasn’t a compliment. He- no, the four of them, were smarter than normal people.

Even that though, wouldn’t prevent them from seeing the blaring obvious, like a car coming. Erik’s tendency to spend most of his time delved in his doubt-filled thoughts demanded most of his attention though, so it wasn’t strange for Alys to consider him an “airhead”.

So, turning his head, Erik’s lips turned in an awkward, apologetic smile. In truth, he didn’t want to contradict her. He supposed that it was a bit mean to do that, but if it kept her happy, then he was happy too. She already argued with Noyle enough to start doing the same with him.

“ _She doesn’t deserve someone like him.”_ The thought popped in his head like a firecracker, the strength of the emotions behind the thought taking Erik by surprise. The pang that he had felt in his heart wasn’t one of sadness or anger- well, not anger exactly. It was…jealousy. Jealous because Erik knew that he wished to be in Noyle’s place- with the loveliest person by his side. He knew that the arguments between Alys and her boyfriend were playful, like two pups roughhousing with each other. Underneath that, he knew that they were both in as much love as a newlywed couple, or at least Erik hoped.

He didn’t want to think of how heartbroken Alys would be if that fact wasn’t true.

What if-

 _No._ He sternly reminded himself. To even think about that, in Erik’s opinion, was simply inviting disaster in. Disaster was the last thing he wanted for her. For any of them, in fact.

Immersed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice when the light for pedestrians turned into the bright neon green- nor did he notice the brunette leaving his side, as she left without a single comment, not even with one glance back to catch his attention. As if she was suddenly disinterested in his presence, she walked on her own on her way to the other side of the congested sidewalk. Despite her age, she was a tad small, and easily blended in with the taller crowd.

So when the shot brought him back from the depths of his doubts, he could not believe the scene in front of his eyes.

In the midst of the chaos, was Alys’s unmoving body on top of a pool of what he suspected was her own blood.


	4. Pre-operation Anxiety

Chapter 4

_"An unpleasant state of tension or uneasiness that results from a patient's doubts or fears before an operation."_

Erik felt nothing. It surprised him, the fact that he could keep himself in the midst of the chaos. People were running away in all directions, just as long as it got them away from the corpse that covered the street with blood. In the farthest corner of his mind, he recognized the wailing sounds of the police and the ambulance but not even that made him move.

Police were useless. Whoever shot her would have already escaped while the crowd panicked. It wasn’t as if Erik could give them a description either because- well, he didn’t see anything.

Paramedics were useless too. From a distance, he could tell that Alys was dead. From the way that the blood pooled, it had probably been a shot through the head. She probably didn’t feel a thing.

 _But why don’t I feel anything about it?_ He thought, a puzzled expression rising on his face. It was as if he was in shock- no, he determined that he _was_ in shock. The suddenness of his friend’s gruesome goodbye was enough to do that. Seconds turned into hours and minutes into days in Erik’s brain as disbelief consumed him.

Then the second shot sped everything up. The loud, but brief, bang of the shot was like a bucket of cold water in his head, bringing him back to focus.

_Alys was lying on the pavement. Wrong. She is dead. Someone shot her._

Snapping his head to look around, Erik tried to search for anyone who looked for the shooter- anyone suspicious would do. Slowly, he began backing up, his blue eyes glued to the body. Idly, he wondered how Alys had managed to gain a second shot wound.

As he looked, no one seemed suspicious to him; everyone in the vicinity seemed to be too panicked about the idea of a shooter to seem suspicious. Yet in Erik’s mind that made them _all_ suspicious. He knew and understood that in a busy city, anyone could just blend in, especially in a chaotic situation like this.

A lump formed at his throat, a fear that Erik could not swallow down, no matter how much he tried. For an unknown shooter had taken down his friend and could be anywhere, blended into the shadows or in the midst of scared pedestrians. He, or she, could be anyone.

And they could be after him too.

No, they _were_ after him!

The realization sent not only a shiver down Erik’s spine but sent his panic alarm ringing. If someone had targeted her, then it was only natural for them to target him and the other two. _They’re going to kill me,_ he thought with widened eyes. From a distance, he could see that the police and ambulance had arrived but that didn’t make him feel better. They could have killed her too, for all he knew. They could be acting like they’re helping.

 _They’re going to kill me._ Erik mentally repeated to himself like a mantra. _Someone is going to kill me, anyone could kill me, anyone, anyone at all!_ He looked around wildly, looking for anything that could give them away but nothing. All the looks were the same to him- that same menacing look that he imagined that the killer would have. Pedestrians glared him down as he met their eyes and Erik could only read murder in all of them.

Someone was coming to kill him. It could be anyone. Therefore, everyone could be out to get him.

A third bang filled the air, the sound much closer to him than what he was comfortable with. Erik didn’t give it a second thought (or a first for that matter) though, and finally broke into a sprint. He didn’t look back to see where the shot had landed (if the shot had landed) nor did he give one last look at Alys’s corpse. There was only one thought in his mind and it was to run, to run as fast and as far as possible!

The farther he got from the scene of the crime, the more people concentrated in the streets. Unaware of the awful shooting, they watched him with strange eyes as he pushed them away in panic. Some even spat insults at him as they tumbled over other people. It didn’t matter to Erik though, who didn’t turn around to look at them. He didn’t need to anyways, as he could feel their stares, judging and threatening at the same time.

Erik continued to run- run past streets that he and Alys had walked passed _together_ just minutes ago (or hours- he couldn’t be too sure at the moment) and he wasn’t sure when or how he had made to the entrance of the building, much less to the apartment itself. He slammed the door shut with enough force to call anyone’s attention, but to Erik it was as if the door had been a mile away.

“She’s dead.” He muttered hoarsely, the voice not reaching his ears but the other two that had popped out of the room to check who had entered so loudly. “She’s dead…” Erik whispered again, his voice cracking as a sob escaped him. Slowly, his back slid against the wooden door until he could go down no further and- what was running down his cheeks, he wondered? Blood? Had he been shot as well? Then why was he still breathing? Why wasn’t he dead on the ground, bleeding like Alys had?

“Erik?” The voice came from far away, a concerned male’s- Noyle’s. And in any other time, he would have been glad to hear that voice, for despite their animosity, he was his mentor. Without him, Erik would have been no one and he owed him for that.

So Noyle’s concern only frightened Erik further. What would he do to him once he realized why he had returned alone?! His breathing quickened as the older male approached him and in a futile attempt to avoid conversation with him, Erik brought his legs against his chest, his head resting against his knees.

Noyle’s worry only increased at Erik’s reaction as he stopped right in front of his flatmate. He had already noticed that something had gone wrong, since he knew that Alys could fend for herself and that despite Erik’s lack of social skills, he knew how to keep himself together- or at least fake it. “What happened, Erik?” Not one to beat around the bush, Noyle asked him directly, a clump of fear forming in his throat. When he realized that Erik’s response was only to hyperventilate, he could no longer swallow that fear down. But he needed to know the truth and there was only one way to know.

He picked up Erik by the shoulder and slammed him against the door. The loud bang brought a short-lived scream from the younger blonde, as blue eyes, filled with terror, stared into a pair of brown eyes, concern replaced with stern anger. Under Noyle’s vice grip, he realized that Erik was shaking, but he couldn’t bring himself to be gentle with him. He had to know if he was _right._

“Erik.” He growled, his tone angry yet not without the slightest bit of panic. “What the hell _happened?!_ ” Noyle nearly yelled at the trembling teenager, the grip on his shoulders increasing as Erik’s knees nearly gave way.

“SHE’S DEAD!” Erik finally admitted, a painful sob leaving his throat, his hands gripping the sides of his head, which could only look to the floor. He couldn’t look at Noyle in the eyes, not after that, probably not ever. “We were walking and I don’t know what happened, one second the light was red, and the next she’s on the ground bleeding!” It was as if a dam had broken, though instead of water, words flowed out of his mouth. “And I don’t know what happened next, she was lying there, and I guess she’s dead, I mean she was shot! She was shot and she wasn’t moving and then there were more shots and- and- and- !” Erik hesitated for a moment, as he tried to connect his panicked thoughts. His chest hurt, and he was sure that he was crying and looked pathetic, but he had to warn Noyle- he had to keep going!

“There was no shooter.” Erik continued, quickly shaking his head when he noticed his error. “No- no- I don’t mean that- of course- of course there was a shooter! I just never saw it.” His shoulders were shaking and he knew that he would just fall back down if Noyle decided to let him go. “Three- three times he shot. Each one was closer to me so- so- so” There was another moment of hesitation as Erik tried to put two and two together. Except whenever he tried to do that, he never got the right answer. What if he was wrong this time, too?

“Erik, stop beating around the bush and fucking finish!” Noyle barked out, shaking Erik by the shoulders once more. He already had the weight of his girlfriend’s death on his shoulders, but he knew that something else had his flatmate shaken up.

All of the sudden, Erik’s shaking stopped and his breathing slowed to a near halt. An eerie calm swept over him as he finally connected the dots and came to his conclusion. Slowly, Erik raised his head, meeting Noyle’s unreadable expression.

“So I think that someone’s after me.” He finally muttered and watched how Noyle’s blanched in realization.

“No, Erik.” He muttered, his face pale in fear. “Someone’s after all of us.”


End file.
